Thrill
by Morte Mistrata
Summary: Alec loves the rush and he's not the only one. Will a chance encounter with another speed demon become something more? A Yaoi between Sideswipe, a young human male and possibly Sunstreaker if he is ever found. Rewrite in progress.
1. Day job, Meetings and Injuries

The thrill was what drew him in. Adrenaline pumping through his veins, every sense heightened to the extreme; it was the highest high, and Alec loved it. Alec's father had taken him to his first race when he was fourteen, just before he was old enough for a permit. The cars were lined up meticulously, each driver scrutinising the other drivers and their rides. Scantily clad women held glowing flags at the starting line and with a sultry swish of their hips, waved. The cars zoomed between the girls into the distance, the dust thrown into the audience's eyes.

Even then, he knew that this would be his profession. A love for cars ran in the family; engine oil was his blood. Alec's father spent the last two years of his life teaching him how to control a car rather than just drive it. Alec was lucky to have his father's blessing; most racers lived this life in the shadows, leaving their family to find out after they were dead or incarcerated. Of course, he never expected his father's willingness to allow his only child into shadowy business a hint to his forthcoming murder.

Alec had known that his dad was rich. He had known that he was rarely at work. What he did not know, was that his father's money came from dealings with local gangs. Perhaps his father had known that he had a hit on him. That would explain why the normally unorganised man had a will set up. It would also explain why the car enthusiast had driven the old buick that night. Alec had no idea about any of it until he heard the gunshot. No scream, just the sound of a gun firing.

By the time that Alec had knocked down the door, the intruder was laying dead on the floor, half of his head smashed by a heavy ornamental engine block. His father slumped in his chair, the red leather saturated from the blood leaking from the hole in his chest. "I love you, son. Take care of-" He had sputtered, as Alec held his hand. Afterwards, Alec hated the cars; The intruder had killed his father over what they represented: power. The cars stayed unused in the garage as a year and another passed. He couldn't bear to look at them, to feel their powerful engines thrum beneath his palms. But in the end, all Alec had was the cars. All he had was the rush and the memory. He might as well not waste them.

OoOoO

"Hey, be careful. He's rare and expensive; worth more than you twice over." The blond man hissed. Alec smiled anyways; his attitude was normal for the newer racers; he'd get put in his place later. For now, Alec was content to play nice and maybe score his number. Alec raised his hands in surrender and backed away from his ride, a slightly flirty smile arranged on his face.

"Sorry man, but he's a beauty. Couldn't help but take a look." Blond man smiled slightly at the compliment, his blue eyes sparkling with pride. What Alec had said wasn't a lie. The Corvette was very good looking with it's leather seats and silver paint; a lot of rookie drivers would paint their cars obnoxiously and this one hadn't made that mistake. As for his irregular pronoun, Alec could see why he used it. Most machines were called feminine pronouns, but this car looked much too masculine to use them. It had curves alright, but also angles that seemed to mimic its driver.

"Heh. Bet you couldn't. The name's Sideswipe. You are?"

"Ace. Mine's the Cayman GT4 over there." Sideswipe nodded his approval of his chosen racing name. No one around here used their real name, just in case someone got caught and decided to squeal. The sound of a long monotone horn rang through the air, startling Alec."Well, good luck and fair game Sideswipe." He waved and retreated to the privacy of his own car.

Alec ignored everyone once he entered his car. The Racemaster did not matter. Neither did the other racers. All that mattered was the speed; the prize could wait for later. The flag girl for his lane, a brunette in a tight red jumpsuit, raised the luminescent checkered flag as the Racemaster repeated the rules.

"No cheating, no accelerators above C8 level and absolutely no posting on social media. Get ready, rev your engines and...go!" She threw it towards the ground in a wide arc.

He eased the pedal to the ground in one smooth motion and was pushed into his seat with the sudden speed. The car and him had one mind, one motive: to achieve the highest speed. He turned the car into the tunnel, easing ahead of a competitor in a purple Camero. There was nothing but darkness ahead of his headlights except for the curve markers on the walls. That was all he needed. He slowed down slightly to turn the corners, and sped up in every straight section. The Corvette sped by him, balancing on two wheels to pass in the small emergency resting lane. Alec could've sworn that Sideswipe winked at him as he passed by, his eyes an unnatural blue as he sped by in a blur. He almost lost his concentration.

He shook off the feeling and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. The car was only an extension of himself, he thought, as he shifted into a higher gear. He breathed and the tunnel let out under a dark, sprawling sky. On either side of him was tall, featureless, concrete walls; they left no indication to where the road caution, he flattened the pedal to the floor and aimed for the slant of the walls.

He was lucky this time; Alec's car just managed to grip it and stay above Sideswipe and his ride. He was out of power to use from doing this maneuver and could do no more than keep pace. The rookie was smart about how he drove; he had managed to overtake everyone except Alec. He knew that if he couldn't get past him on a tricky area, then they would tie, which was unacceptable.

The finish line was almost visible now. The crowds would be cheering, lights flashing, cars honking from the audience. All that was between them was a jump. With his reputation and ego on the line, he decided to go for it, even though he was at an angle. The ramp was getting closer and his mind flashed to the formula of trajectory. He was going fast enough, and the angle would suffice, though he may have some damage to the car's body. And then Sideswipe pushed past him, coming close enough to risk his own car and forcing Alec to go higher. His car's wheels started to burn as it tried it's best to keep itself on the near impossible slope.

He was going too fast to stop in time, but at the wrong angle and speed to make the jump. He knew that he was going to crash and oddly enough, he didn't care. His mind was heightened from the Rush, his heart beating like a hummingbird's. Alec was all alone, but he didn't care because he was going to die doing what he loved.

He almost closed his eyes. He almost missed it.

As his car flew off of the last foot of concrete, the edge of the cement ramp disappearing beneath him, he fell and Sideswipe's car exploded. It was a burst of metallic movement too fast for him to catch, but fast enough for it to catch him. Alec's Cayman sat in it's hands for only a moment, long enough for Alec to look into it's oddly familiar eyes, before being deposited on the other side, wheel's still spinning. The robot did not reappear behind him.

The other racers were not far behind now, and though he'd had the rush of his life he could not stop; He was determined to win this race. He put metal to the pedal and crossed the line numbly, coming to a stop in the winners parking space. A few moments after he stopped, Sideswipe came in third place.

He pulled over and stepped out of the car-machine thingy perfectly fine. Not a hair out of place, the blonde waved and pointed at abandoned road sitting above the race track. Alec nodded, his eyes flickering to the car. It had naught a scratch on it. It took Alec a moment to gather his thoughts and calm his shaking hands enough to pick up his prize. Avoiding the crowd of fans that he usually spent at least some time talking to, he got back in his car and sped off. He had to know what the fuck had happened.

The drive to the bridge was short, but uneventful and Alec was thankful for that. When he arrived, the bridge was empty, abandoned a long time ago due to the inconvenience of repaving, so they were the only ones there. The blond man ran his fingers through his long hair and pulled it into a ponytail. His sunglasses reflected the stark light of the overpass.

"What the fuck was that back there man? Some government shit, alien crap?" Alec asked angrily, taking a tentative step forward. "And besides that. I know for a fact that you're not human, not with that stunt back there. So answer me this: who the fuck are you?"

The car's engine revved, loud like a growl resounding in the jungle as the man seemed to flicker on and off like faulty lighting. The man solidified again, a wide smile on his face, turning his handsome features into a cruel parody. "I am the car, you idiot and I saved your ass so shut up. The only reason I'm even bothered was because of protocol." He snarled, not at all like the sexy and possessive voice from earlier. He sounded dangerous now; instinctively, Alec took a step back.

Alec slipped his hand into his pocket discreetly and felt for the small blade he always kept there at his father's insistence. He had a gun too, but that was in the glove department and he'd rather not resort to that unless he had to.

Sideswipe's eyes flickered to his pocket and then back to Alec's eyes in a single fluid moment. "Chill. The knife isn't going to do anything. In case you didn't notice," He gestured at himself. "I'm not real."

Alec stared into his cold, blue eyes. They looked alien and he did not trust them. Not at all. He mumbled. "Whatever." There was an awkward silence as Alec waited. "So, what are you then?"

He chuckled and pointed a thumb behind him. A peterbilt was pulling up behind his car, pulling to a soundless stop behind it. "My boss'll answer that."

A forty-something year old man in a plaid long sleeved shirt and jeans stepped out of the cab, the door closing behind him silently. The trucker smiled cordially as he approached, stopping a fair distance away from Alec. "Hello. My name is Optimus Prime: I am the leader of the faction that Sideswipe belongs to. We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron, several light years away from this planet. I apologize for Sideswipe's behavior….?" The truck rumbled slightly as he spoke.

"Alec. Alec Martin." He supplied quickly, feeling awkward as he realised that he was talking to a completely new species with different mannerisms and a different culture than his own; what if he had already offended them?

"Just call us Autobots." SIdeswipe mumbled, leaning against himself. Alec pulled his gaze away reculently and focused on the neutral sight of the ground.

"It's fine, I um, I knew the risks of racing." He would have felt even worse awkward repeating Optimus' name out loud; it was such a mouthful.

"Even so, Sideswipe could have caused an unnecessary injury or caused your death if he had not caught you last minute. He will be punished for his reckless actions." A police siren sounded in the distance. "However, you also broke human laws and will be punished also under the jurisdiction of your government. Captain Lennox of the N.E.S.T. division will meet you in the morning at your house." Optimus finished speaking, a weird silence falling over them as Alec realised that the pause was for his sake.

"How're you gonna find me though? All I told you was my name and you don't even know if that's true."

Sideswipe laughed. "We'd know if you were lying, pretty boy and believe me when I say that a name is enough."

Alec glared at him but said nothing as he got back into his car. Without a moment's hesitation, he drove off. Inside, he was stunned. What was he supposed to do now? Just go home and try to sleep like this never happened? Well, he supposed he could. At least until tomorrow.

OoOo

Alec was completely alone in his house. The maid only came over when he was sleeping or out of the house and he had never asked a girl over, even if he had won rights to her for the night. Even though he hated to admit it, he was an extreme introvert with the exceptions being the races and his seldom one night stands.

Normally the emptiness was fine, but tonight it was suffocating. He wanted to tell someone about what had happened, about what would happen and what he should do. The loneliness was smothering his thoughts and for a moment, he ached for his father's steadying presence. The moment quickly passed as a car honked outside and he sighed as he peeked out the window, considering calling up someone for the night. It wasn't like he was going to sleep anyways; his adrenaline rush wasn't gone yet. He noticed that there was no one outside except for a car. Sideswipe's car. Or rather, Sideswipe was outside, sitting in his driveway.

He jabbed the button to open the gate to the inner driveway, which creaked open slowly before closing behind him. Alec took a deep breath, and opened the door. Even though he knew that Sideswipe could do it, his human avatar appearing before him suddenly was surprising.

He was wearing the same pair of sunglasses as earlier, though his hair was shorter, falling down to his chin. Sideswipe looked just as handsome as before, and as Alec surveyed the way that his brown leather jacket hugged his frame, he could feel the warmth of arousal begin to grow. Alec blushed. Sideswipe was an alien robot. He couldn't be hot.

Sideswipe nodded at him. "Sup, Alec?"

"Hey." He replied lamely, stepping aside.

As Sideswipe slid by him into the house, his arm brushed Alec's and a jolt of pleasant coolness dissipated into his skin. The alien paused a couple steps into his house, eyes carefully surveying the dusty chandelier and spiral staircase.

"So, why are you here? Thought I was being annoying earlier."

Following Alec to the den, he snorted. "You were. But someone has to make sure you don't ditch this place overnight, and uh, seeing as I'm locked out of base, it fell to me." Alec sat down on the couch, Sideswipe sat down beside him. "So, got any video games?"

"Who said you could stay inside?" Alec said, passing the extra Xbox control to him as he restarted his game of Galactic auto-vehicular thievery.

"You don't have a choice," Sideswipe said, a smirk playing on his lips. "Enough stalling. I'm going to beat your high score so hard, you'll never get placed again."

"Mmhmm. We'll see about that."

They probably would've played until the sun rose if Alec hadn't have dozed off. He couldn't remember when, just his frustration and joy at playing the game with the handsome man and being equal in skill.

When he woke up, the sun was slipping through the curtains and his doorbell was chiming. He could hear the door being opened as he sat up. Wiping a line of dried drool from his mouth, he ran his fingers through his hair, though he couldn't do much else about his appearance. It was that military guy who was supposed to visit him, wasn't it? He walked to the hall. A man in his early thirties with the stiff disposition of a soldier on duty glared at him as he turned away from Sideswipe. Sideswipe face quickly changed from indifference to amusement as Alec shifted uncomfortably.

Sideswipe snickered before being silenced by the man's oppressive glare. The military man, Lennox, wasn't it? offered his hand. As Alec shook it, he introduced himself. "Hello Alec. My name is Major Lennox. I'm part of the military unit that works with Cybertronians. I'm here to discuss the implications of what happened last night."

He nodded and led him to the kitchen; he was going to need some coffee before he could actually understand any of this shit. He turned the coffee on as Major Lennox produced a folder. He sat down in the kitchen chair stiffly and opened it.

"Want some coffee?" Alec asked as he pulled a mug from the cabinet.

Lennox shook his head. "No, thank you."

Alec shrugged. More coffee for him then. Quickly fixing his mug, he joined the two at the table. Several documents were already spread out on the table, most of which had several signature lines.

"You have violated Article three code seven of the non-carbon species displacement laws by associating with Sideswipe without prior government approval. However, the blame for that action falls squarely on Sideswipe. Normally, you would excused for your actions in breaking this law. However, you were breaking several laws by street racing including trespassing and money laundering. Since you have yet to endanger another individual with your driving, except for what might be considered the norm, you will not be charged or sent to jail. That can change if you decide to refuse this offer."

Alec leaned forward, wondering why they even bothered to keep him around. Wouldn't it be easier to simply throw him jail, or a crazy house? It's not like anyone would believe him.

Lennox continued, his face still annoyingly impassive. "Work for us by continuing to race in order to look for Cybertronian racers or spectators as well as being human backup on certain missions. These missions have a low fatality rate and you will be compensated accordingly. Do you agree to these conditions?"

It was going way too fast for him. Was a deal that was worth it? Or was he getting played for a fool? Alec sipped his man looked at him expectantly. Sideswipe gazed at him with could have been a tinge of worry or indigestion. He sighed inwardly. Even if he did have a choice, he'd probably still answer the same. "Yeah. I mean yes."

The man smiled tightly. "You will officially be an employee of the United States government once you sign these documents." He passed him a pen.

Alec knew that he wouldn't understand the paper even if he read it. His hand did not shake as signed in clear letters. He was now property of the government.

OoOo

Racing was supposed to be the same as it had always been, except now he was required to wear what appeared to be a watch but was actually a Cybertronian tracker. Lennox didn't tell him how it worked and he didn't ask. He just did what he was told, which was to talk to each racer and wave the watch by each car. If it started to beep, Sideswipe would call Lennox who would then call a team to collect it. Him, he corrected. He didn't think there were any females.

The Racemaster amplified a car horn, signaling that the race would begin in the next five minutes. He sighed and walked back to his car. He hadn't finished going by all of them yet, and he wondered what the punishment for that would be. It wasn't his fault either, he thought as he walked by a refurbished police car. The sirens were taken off, which was the only reason why they hadn't scattered as soon as the racer had arrived. Sideswipe had made him late, wanting to drive through a car wash on the way there. Twice. And Alec didn't really know how to say no without being rude. The watch buzzed as he walked by the grill. Alec tried to look into the car to see the driver, but there was no one. The engine started and lights turned on.

Be calm. Be calm. He thought as he jogged away. He wondered if the car knew what he was doing. He shook the thought away. Exhaling deeply, he settled got into his car and adjusted the mirror. He had nothing to do but win the race. He didn't even have to tell Sideswipe. The watch had already alerted Sideswipe to the presence.

A new woman, a busty spanish wearing a bikini, waved the flag and the cars raced by her, covering her in dust and exhaust. Alec's car propelled itself ahead of the others on the sharper turns, using the tight control in the wheels to keep him from sliding or crashing. His heart beat quickly, moving the addictive feel of adrenaline through his body. It sharpened his senses, and gave him an edge. Tonight they were especially useful. As the police car sped by him, the windows too dark to see into, he could feel it's speed. It was too close. Much too close.

Alec mashed the gas pedal to the floor, likely hurting the car but for now he didn't care. If he kept at his current speed, the police car would run into him. He sped up as they came to a jumping ramp, but still let him pass; he had no desire to repeat the previous night's events. He watched as the car jumped higher than humanly possible before landing gracefully on the other side.

Alec eased into his highest speed and flew over, heart beating even louder as he watched the ground disappear behind him. The memory of falling ran through his mind before he pushed it away and tightened his hands on the steering wheel. He released a breath he didn't know he was holding as he landed safely. In a quick and slightly numb moment, he was past the finish line, skidding to a stop at the second place circle. Sideswipe was watching from beyond the finish line, he knew that much; he didn't know how he was planning to contact the alien. This place was too crowded and almost any area big enough nearby was to be the home of a rave. Alec supposed it didn't matter; His job was to race, and he did. Now he was going to go home and chill.

He collected the money he was due before driving off. He took the scenic route, the one he rarely traveled because it brought back too many memories from the times he had with his father. Alec decided to go this way anyways; he deserved the view after driving so far to get track was farther away than usual; he would have to drive almost an hour to get back home. His mind kept wandering back to the Police cruiser with the evil aura. Was he one of their enemies or something? He looked into the mirror as his watch beeped. Behind him, the police car was tailing him closely. He was less than a foot away from his bumper. The street beyond that was empty.

Was he being tailed? Possibly, he thought. It did seem like the car had known that Alec was doing something, though it was also a possibility that they were just going in the same direction; however, there was no reason for him to be so close. The watch continued to beep. Alec glared at it and threw it in the backseat. He eyed the car with darkened windows one more time before turning the music up.

His phone rang. An unknown number, he thought as he answered. "Yes? This is-"

"Alec, you need to run." This was a stark distance from the joyful mood he had been in the last time he'd seen him. Sideswipe's voice was tight, the sound of a rapidly accelerating engine in the background.

"That police racer is tailgating me." Alec said, glancing into the back view mirror.

"That's why you need to go. _Now_. Drive as fast as you can and try to get to a populated area. He won't try anything there."

"I'm nearly an hour away!" He sputtered. He was in danger, and wasn't supposed to be. This was supposed to be easy!

"Well you better get there fast!" Sideswipe replied, the phone line cutting off. Alec was alone again; this time he had to handle it on his own.

He took a sharp turn onto an old driveway that led to a highway. His car was getting dirty, but somehow that didn't seem as important as it would've been otherwise. The police turned behind him, skidding off into the grass for a moment before getting back on the pavement. He tried to go faster, only to find his car protesting; it was using too much fuel going at the speed it was at.

As he was about to take the turnoff onto another street, the car sped across the grass, stopping sideways in front of him. The street was too narrow to go around and there was no way that he could drive at a fast enough speed backwards. He was trapped.

"What do I do now?" He hissed into his phone. Sideswipe didn't answer, dammit; he forgot that the line had dropped.

He tried calling again, and without waiting for Sideswipe to say hello, he spoke. "What do I do now? I'm trapped."

"Try to stay alive until backup gets there. I'm on my way." He hissed.

The car folded in on itself, exploding into a humanoid form that was somehow still utterly foreign. He was more spikes than curves and completely different than Sideswipe's bot form. He placed a heavy hand on his car. The metal creaked beneath the black and white car's weight.

"Where are they hiding? Where is the allspark?"

"I dunno man! I literally just met 'em yesterday!" He replied, an edge of hysteria rising into his voice. Frantically, he unlocked the glove department and started rummaging for his handgun.

The car took no notice of him and seemed to grow more aggravated. His hand tightened on the Porsche's hood. He winced as it creaked more. His car…

"Where are they human? Where is the allspark?"

"I told you that I dunno!" He yelled back, firing his Glock 19 at the alien as he scrambled to escape the car. Maybe he could make it to the trees which were much too dense for him to continued to fire until he was out of bullets, and made it halfway to the trees when he ran out. The robot grabbed his arm, pulling him off of the ground in one swift movement. He yelled out in pain. His arm was completely numb, likely pulled from it's socket.

A car rumbled behind him, a softer and slightly more familiar sound. Sideswipe, he thought in relief. The sound of his transformation echoed behind him.

"Alec! Run." He hissed as his hands were exchanged for blades. The cop car dropped him, and his breath was forced out of him. He forced himself to get up and scurry into the trees as Sideswipe deflected the police car's attempts to stop him. However, he didn't manage to save his car.

"Too weak to fight a real mech, Barricade? Have to go after the humans too?" Sideswipe growled, punching Barricade into his car. Alec turned away, and caught his breath. His arm hung limply and he couldn't move it, though he could feel it. He shook his head. Now was not a good time to survey his injury.

Behind him, he heard the police reply with a hiss. "It does not matter what the means ars as long as I win. You know as well as I do that humans can be a worthy adversary."

Turning back to the fight, Alec caught the blur of falling metal as Sideswipe was shoved roughly away. He caught his balance, using his momentum to cut a deep gash in Barricade's neck.

Barricade fought back harder now, and much more desperately. He lashed out, almost nicking Sideswipe's armor. He redirected his force against him, pushing thw police too close to Alec for comfort.

Alec turned away and walked Dreier into the forest, following the road towards the city. He kept moving, even as his eyes grew heavy and his feet ached. The trees passed by in a blur as he continued towards the lights of the distant city. It was near six a.m. when he reached the outskirts where the businesses district started.

A lamborghini with subtle dents and scratches pulled up slowly behind him. The door opened. "You plan on walking all the way back?"

Alec shook his head, taking care to remove his muddy shoes before sitting down in the passenger seat. The door closed on it's own and Sideswipe appeared beside him with a burst of static. This time he wore a red flannel that matched the shade of his real self. His signature sunglasses rested lightly in his shoulder length hair.

He began to move again. "So, did you watch?"

"Maybe." Alec smiled a little until his arm ached again. Sideswipe's face lit up with a proud grin.

"Well if you maybe did, then maybe you saw how awesome I was. I mean, I still need repairs and all but you should've seen Barricade. He ran away like the coward he is, missing an arm and half a wheel." He laughed.

"You got surface damage or is it deeper?" He asked, thinking of the dents he had seen.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. It's not that bad. A human can fix it even."

"Well, then let me. I've had quite a bit of experience fixing cars, though that one is probably done for. Not to mention that it's partially my fault that you were that damaged in the first place." He muttered. If he had've had more cautious, he could've noticed that he was followed earlier, Barricade could have been caught before Alec was in such a rural area.

Sideswipe was silent for a moment and Alec wondered if he'd crossed some sort of cultural taboo. Then he smiled softly again. "Sure man. Your handiwork looked good. You can't make it much worse."

Alec hoped that his blush was unseen in the dark of night as they sped away.


	2. Workdays, Routines and accidents

Humans were strange creatures. Though Alec had noticed and spoke about his dents, he had never even mentioned the dislocation of his own arm once. Sideswipe had only noticed it due to his wincing when it accidentally made contact with his door.

"Is your arm injured?"

Alec jumped slightly, hand falling from under his chin at the sound of his voice. He was probably falling into recharge- sleep, he corrected.

"It's probably dislocated, but it's fine. I'll call a doctor in the morning." He yawned, his brown hair falling into his eyes. He was almost asleep again when Sideswipe pulled into his driveway. The gates opened automatically as his face was scanned by the security camera.

Optimus' form was parked on the curb, he noticed, likely because the entrance wasn't wide enough for him to enter. Ratchet had managed to squeeze through the small gate, he realised with dread, and was waiting in the driveway along with an unhappy Lennox.

"Why in the pit didn't you call for backup? I just pounded those out! And how in the name of Primus did Barricade manage to lose you in-" Ratchet cut himself off, his holoform dissipating and reappearing beside him. Sideswipe opened his door and let Ratchet practically drag Alec out. The human boy blinked sleepily. "How did this happen?" Ratchet asked furiously to no one in particular, his doctor face overtaking his 'I'm-going-to-murder-you face'. He pointed to a very visible puprle blotch on Alec's shoulder. Sideswipe looked away fro the injury. Sideswipe was glad that they weren't at medbay; if they had've been, a wrench or two would've been thrown by now.

Alec unlocked the door as Ratchet pestered him with questions. Sideswipe held the door open, letting Prime, Ratchet and Lennox in before locking it. Prime was silent and therefore, impossible to decipher and Lennox was hiding his own displeasure beneath a trained military veneer. Ratchet however, was still boiling quite visibly.

As he set Alec's shoulder with gauze and and bandages, he chastised SIdeswipe. "How you could let a human get hurt this badly in _five minutes_ is beyond me. Not to mention you failed at your mission. Barricade is still out there _and_ managed to meet your partner. This-" He paused to check on Alec, who was falling back asleep because of the pain pills Ratchet had forced on him.

Prime stopped talking to Lennox, leaving the military man to rouse Alec for his debriefing as the Autobot leader led Sideswipe into an adjoining room. Sideswipe focused his gaze on his right shoulder, as familiar as it was;His holoform still hadn't been changed from when it was first uploaded. He had the same middle-aged, harmless white guy appearance as he always did. The same jet black hair and blue eyes. The same plaid trucker shirt. Somehow, it still worked, not seeming stale like Sideswipe's sometimes did; Sideswipe had changed his nearly twelve times already.

Stopping in what appeared to be an office, Prime closed the door and sat down in the owner's chair. Having no choice, SIdeswipe sat down in the remaining one.

"Normally, I would wait until we returned back to base, but I believe that you should hear this now. You failed your mission, which was exceedingly simply: keep an eye on Alec and call for support when you found Barricade." The words were emotionless, the same tone that Prime used for talking to Galloway. Sideswipe knew to expect something bad when he used the tone. "Alec has a dislocated shoulder that should not have happened. Barricade escaped, with the knowledge that you were being helped by a human civilian operative. Both could've been prevented if you had simply done what was assigned to you."

Sideswipe was finding it increasingly hard to look him in the eye, even if these were just holoforms. Prime's gaze was disconcerting if you were on the wrong end of it.

"Your punishment is simple, as well as being extremely important if you want to continue the search for Sunstreaker." At the mention of his brother's name, Sideswipe met his eyes. He couldn't read them, but even he understood the threat in his words. "The current mission will be prolonged, as several Cybertronians, Autobot, Decepticon and unidentified alike, have been caught racing and it is important that we deal with them in whatever way needed. You will also be providing protection to Alec during these missions."

This wouldn't be too bad To be honest, he probably wouldn't have minded (much) if his brother wasn't still missing, with his only chance of being found on the line.

"But _Prime_ ," He forced the title out between gritted teeth. "Sunstreaker is still-"

"AWOL but alive, as evidenced by you. Currently, we have very little to go on about his whereabouts but as we can see, he's still alive.." He tone softened now, as he reached across the table to place a hand on his shoulder. "I know that you want to look for him; I know how you wish that we could send out more search parties. However, it's not safe and you know that. Shockwave is after you and there's no need for unnecessary risks. I promise you that Red Alert and Inferno are still tracking him, but I can't promise that I'll continue to make them risk their lives if you don't do your duty here."

Sideswipe nodded, biting his tongue; What he wanted to say would only make things a lot worse. He had no choice but to do as Prime said. The only he could get out of this order would be to leave, which would be treason. That would leave him hunted by both Autobots and Decepticons, and would force him to leave those who were basically his family. Forcing his snarl to behave into an emotionless line, he nodded.

"Yes, Prime."

Prime nodded, and dissolved his form. Sideswipe could hear him driving away a few minutes later. The living room was quiet again.

He dissipated as soon as he was sure that Alec wouldn't come looking for him. It felt better to be fully in his own form, even if it was harder to communicate with humans like Alec. Besides that, his real body could give him the speed and freedom that he craved. It was the only real way to fill the void of his twin's missing bond.

It was all he could do right now; he couldn't go back to base. All he could do was growl to himself, because no one was listening and no one cared. Optimus was a great mech; he had saved many innocent lives, had helped a good majority stay alive in the war for millennia and had managed to defeat the Decepticons time and time again. That much of a burden had made him very aloof to all but his closest troops; he knew Optimus would only be able to see what was best for the Autobots as a whole, instead of-

Alec tapped his side window lightly. His holoform formed beside him, tense stance and dark glasses mimicking his emotions.

"Hey."

"Hey."

Sideswipe could literally hear the crickets chirping in their awkward silence. He desperately wanted Alec to speak first because he knew that his anger would make him say something stupid; the only time that that skill had worked in his favor was in battle. Alec shifted nervously, his mouth opening and closing like he was malfunctioning.

"Do you mind going for a drive?" Alec finally managed.

"Why can't you drive yourself?" Sideswipe asked, more curious than annoyed.

Alec's face shifted into slight anger. "Lennox said that I can't go anywhere by myself anymore. I feel like I'm in fucking kindergarten again." He muttered, shoving his unhurt arm into his pocket. "Can't even go to the store by myself."

Sideswipe shook his head as he opened his passenger door. "I guess we've both got a short leash."

OoOo

Alec wasn't particularly ugly for a human, nor was he afraid or rude towards him like some of the NEST soldiers were. It had Sideswipe thinking….if Alec was a Cybertronian, he would have been attractive. He shook away the thought; it was inappropriate at the very least, disturbing at the most. Humans simply weren't appropriate for interspecies relationships like others were.

Sideswipe turned onto a two-way highway, the asphalt changing to the smoothness of the highway beneath his wheels. The night stretched on above him, the sky endless.

"Do you like what you do?"

Alec did not look away from the window as he spoke, but Sideswipe could still hear the quiet intensity of his voice. Sideswipe didn't hesitate to answer. "It's all I know." And it was true. He had grown up in the arena, had learned that to fight was to live and the war was just an extension of that lesson.

They were silent as Sideswipe turned, taking them down a road that would lead back to Alec's house. As Sideswipe pulled into the driveway, he looked at him. Alec's hair was falling into his eyes, visible knots in it as the edges touched. Sideswipe wondered why human hair tangled when his own stayed perfect. It was a flaw of the current holoform; it could only mirror the most essential human qualities to make them seem more realistic.

Finally, he spoke. "Why are you so calm, through all that you've been through?"

Sideswipe could see his lazy smile on his reflection. "Because I don't fear death anymore. From what I gather, you're pretty old, right? I mean, to travel so far from your planet to ours, you'd have to have a much longer lifetime and, well, you're obviously not organic. You'll outlive me, and you've outlived several species here. It just doesn't seem so bad when you put it all in perspective."

Sideswipe supposed that Alec was right. He would live for a hundred years or less, and that was barely three years on Cybertron. Another reason why NEST was against interspecies relationships, though it certainly didn't stop anyone.

He opened his door, and Alec stepped out, wiping a smudge off of his window with his sleeve. As Alec walked into the house, Sideswipe behind him, he considered his oath. It required him to protect him, for however much longer that he would live; although he didn't expect it to be a long time, he would protect the young man until he was no longer able to.

OoOoOo

The next day Alec had to go to work. Sideswipe had to go with him, so while Alec obviously would've preferred to drive one of his admittedly nice cars, it made more sense for Sideswipe to simply drive him there. With a coffee in hand, Alec stepped in carefully; he didn't even seem surprised when Sideswipe's holoform appeared beside him, though he had given no warning.

How in the pit did he get used to this so quickly? He could teach NEST recruits on it, as most of them were still getting used to their real forms, and their holoforms were just another weird alien thing for them to acclimate to. Alec was already at home with him.

"It's on the corner of Spindle and Ren boulevard. Do you know how to get there?" Alec asked. He certainly seemed different today. It was likely the coffee. Humans seemed to need it as Cybertronians needed energon.

After entering the address into the human internet and using the data it returned, he knew where to go and how long it would take to get there by the nanosecond. His holoform shook its head, his hair tickling his neck. He wondered if it felt the same for humans, if the system had translated that feeling correctly. It was a useless thought; they could never know.

They rode the rest of the way in companionable silence. Sideswipe snorted as he read the shop's name. 'Robo-tastic car fixin's'.

"Are you sure you can do physical work like this with your arm all broken?" Sideswipe had no idea why he'd even asked. If anything he should be pissed at Alec for keeping him away from the hunt for his brother. He sighed. Why bother? He was just as trapped by the circumstances as he was. He could only be mad at Prime about what happened.

Alec stared determinedly at the glove department. "Yeah. It's fine." And then disappeared into the garage, calling back to be picked up at four.

 _::Doc-bot~::_ Sideswipe sung. He had called over his private comms. Ratchet hated that, but it was the only sure way to make him answer.

 _::What do you want, you rusting pile of scrap?::_ Ratchet grumbled. He'd probably just woken up from recharge. Not the best time to be calling, but he didn't really know who else to ask.

 _::Should Alec be working using his arm today?::_

 _::Of course not. Did you let him?::_

 _::No.::_ He lied.

He cut himself off abruptly to mimic a dropped line and Ratchet did not comm back.

Sideswipe chuckled at Alec's lie. He had hidden his bandages under a long sleeved flannel, and had taken a bunch of little white pills that morning. Sideswipe doubted that his employer would notice anything, which meant that if he wanted Alec to stop, he'd have to say something himself.

Sideswipe parked himself in an empty spot behind the building and widened the range of his holoform. He appeared in the shadows of the far side of the parking lot and walked into the garage like he was supposed to be there. Alec was inside, underneath a car with a huge dent in the side.

"You aren't supposed to be doing this today, are you?"

Alec sat up quickly, banging his head on it's underbelly. He laid back down and rolled from under it. His face and forearms were covered in grease, and the beginnings of a bruise showed on his forehead.

He rubbed his forehead and tried to avert his gaze, which kept returning to meet Sideswipe's own as if his eyes were a magnet and Alec was a paperclip. "Not really, but um...I've been gone from work for the week and my vacation time is over. I have to come in, because for one," Alec's voice dropped to just above a whisper. "It's a front for my racing money and two, I get paid in parts that I need." Alec crossed his arms stubbornly.

Sideswipe raised a brow. "Yes, yes. Important and all that, but why should I keep this from Ratchet, hmm? He'll definitely be displeased to hear of this." As soon as he mentioned Ratchet, Alec frowned; he was right in guessing that Alec didn't like his way of caring for patients.

Sideswipe laughed. "Don't worry about it. But you better not hurt yourself; it looks bad on the both of us."

Alec relaxed slightly and rolled back under. "I could just go to a hospital if I get hurt. Ya know, 'cause it's easier than calling an alien doctor from an undisclosed military base. "

Sideswipe ignored him and sat down on the hood of the car. It creaked beneath his weight. "True but….it's a lot more fun to watch Ratchet chew you out."

"Since you're not doing anything useful, could you pass me the phillips head?" Alec scooted out enough for his hand to poke out from under the end of the car.

Sideswipe handed it to him.

Alec continued working.

The sun seemed to fall too fast as they talked about random things. Home, and family and life itself. Sideswipe was surprised to find that they had a common interest in something other than racing.

"You want to be a pilot?" Sideswipe's holoform raised a brow and uncrossed his arms as Alec scooted from under the car. Throughout the course of the day, his face and arms had slowly accumulated more and more grease and dirt and dust. He was absolutely filthy. Sideswipe winced at the thought of having him sit inside him

"Yeah. It's one step above racing, I guess. And I've always loved the view." He stood up and rubbed the majority of the grime away with a rag. "I'm done Jim." Alec called into the side office.

"Alright." Jim answered back the office.

Sideswipe walked to the side of the building and disappeared, reforming in the driver's seat. Pulling up in front of the shop, he opened his door, surprised to see that Alec had changed shirts. Although Alec was walking towards him at an admirable speed, he wasn't walking fast enough to not hear Jim yell, "You're boyfriend bein' here better not have messed up your work."

"He didn't, Jim." Alec yelled back, his red face a contradiction to his confident tone. Slamming his door shut, he hissed, "Drive."

They drove away, ignoring the curious stares of the shop owner.

"Well that hurt." Sideswipe said teasingly.

"No it didn't, it was barely a slam."

"Mmhmm. Sure it was. Anyways, do you wanna go for a drive?" He offered. After being still the whole day, he wanted to stretch his wheels and feel the wind over his hood.

"Yeah. Sure." Alec said, running his fingers over the leather stitching of his seats. Primus, he felt so cold.

He liked it.

The whole week was like that. Working and talking and then going for a long drive on the outskirts of the city, where the highway was nearly empty. Sideswipe honestly should've known that it wouldn't last. The same route everytime led to an abundance of his energon signiture going up and down the stretch. Coupled with Alec's face, it was a mystery that they hadn't been found sooner.

"You see them too, right?" Alec asked, looking behind them at the twin purple cars. They drove down both lanes of the two way highway; if today had've been busier, there would have been a lot of car accidents.

Sideswipe nodded, his hair swaying into his eyes.

"Bet we can lose 'em before back-up gets here."

Alec snorted. "Sure you can."

Sideswipe smirked at the challenge and sped up. The highway began to blur, and the small potholes and cracks became indistinguishable from smooth concrete. All was going well until a purple jet landed in the road 200 meters in front of them. It was a split decision; stop, or attempt to go around. The greatest chance of Alec escaping unharmed came with stopping. So he stopped.

Skidding to a stop in front of the jet, the two twin cars pulled up behind them, guns from their hoods, aimed at them and ready to fire.

"Scrap."

OoOo

The two cars were almost identical, except for their scratches. They both had an emblem on them, where the manufacturer's should've been. That was all Alec had time to notice before they fired.

The blast was too fast for him to study in detail. All Alec noticed was a bright flash and then the pain. Even though it technically had hit Sides' and not him, he could feel the shock-like pain which eventually faded into burning.

Sideswipe's voice was tight and low. Alec looked over at his holoform, the man's expression frozen before it fizzled away into static."I'm going to open the door and when I do, you run. Run as deep as you can into the forest; I'll find you."

The cars fired again, all three at once. The shot flowed through them both like a wave pushing through water. Alec's arm was numb, the rest of his body was being roasted in a fire so hot, it could've been the sun.

"Go!" Sideswipe yelled, his voice louder and rougher with the intensity of his pain. The door beside Alec flew open and then shots fired again, this time from Sideswipe as he provided cover fire.

It took so much effort to move his log like legs out of the seat and onto the road. But Alec was determined to live, to make it out alive from whoever was trying to kill them. He stumbled onto the asphalt, and nearly fell into the bushes as he dashed into the greenery on the roadside. He could hear the sound of transforming from the road and could feel footsteps behind him; So, Alec pushed himself off of the pine straw and ran, ran until his legs gave out from beneath him and the sky faded into blackness.

OoOoO

Alec rarely remembered his mother; after all, it had been so long since she had died. But as he lay in the soft grass, her memory came to mind. A soft caring woman, with light brown hair like chocolate. It took him years to realise that hair like that wasn't normal for asian women. She had sung to him as a child as his father was out in the streets, working hard so that they'd move out from the old one bedroom apartment. Her voice was soft and melodic, her words now so blurred that he couldn't remember them.

"Primus, he looks like crap." Sideswipe mumbled. Alec strained to lift his head up, meeting his eyes. He looked like crap himself. He held his left arm in his right, the wound leaking blue onto the ground. There were several dents on his leg and chest and a part of his doorwing was crushed.

"I'm not as crappy as you." Alec replied, surprised at how hoarse his throat was. He swallowed, his throat thick. He hadn't noticed until then how hard it was feeling to breathe.

Sideswipe laughed. "Sure, but you're not the one who's looking at you." Alec's throat ached at the mere thought of replying, so he said nothing. The sky above him was dark, the moon high. The light reflected on Sideswipe's armor and god he looked so damn beautiful. His mind was buzzing and fuck it all becuase everything hurt. Fucking hot alien robots.

"Great. Now he's going into shock." He said, sitting down in the small clearing- when did he get into a clearing?- with a thump. Alec's eyes drifted closed.

"No! No! Ratchet said you can't sleep. He's almost here." Alec's eyes snapped open. Why was he so loud?

"I'm not loud Alec, I'm whispering." When had Alec said that out loud?

"You've been talking out loud the whole time." Before Alec could reply, Ratchet stumbled into view, giant oaks and pines tumbling around him. Optimus Prime and another black bot pushed through behind him. His limbs felt like cotton, Alec thought confusedly as his eyes fell shut.


	3. Healing, Repairs and Romance

His mother, she was frowning. His father was yelling. Alec was sleepy, had only gotten out of bed because of the noise. Peeking around the doorway, he looked at his mother's face, then his father's. His dad's watch has moving, twisting around his arm like a snake. It reared it's head and prepared to strike. Alec dashed from the doorway, grabbing onto his father's hand. The snake striked, biting on his arm harder than when the nieghbor's dog had grabbed his ankle. There was more screaming, and yelling and crying. The only word that made it through his sleepy conciousness was 'Decepticon'.

Alec blinked at the harsh light above him.

"He's awake." Sideswipe said.

"Naw, I couldn't tell." Alec mumbled, his voice hoarse from disuse. Exactly how long had he been asleep? "Did I miss much?"

Sideswipe's holoform sat beside him on an ugly hospital chair. His hair was different this time, short all around like a military cut. His long sleeve shirt did not hide the bandages covering where his shoulder and arm connected. His hand was warm, Alec thought, as he rested it gently on his forearm.

"No. You've been offline, I mean sleeping, for two days while Ratchet's dealt with your energon radiation."

Ratchet handed him a glass of water, glaring at Sideswipe until he moved his hand from Alec's arm. Alec could still feel the warmth of his hand; it was strange that he could feel that, when his whole body was numb. As he sipped the water, he realized the burning had all but stopped except for his shoulder.

"Good," Ratchet commented, "It appears that the energon radiation has been canceled out, but you'll still show some effects of it's posioning, as that is not as easy to get rid of. You may notice some burning in your shoulder, sensitivity to energon deposits and occasional heat flares. Nothing too bad, I suppose."

He stepped away, his holoform starting to fade when Alec remember what had happened that night.

"Was I really saying all that crap out loud?" Alec asked quietly.

Sideswipe snorted. "You mean about the hot alien robots?"

"Damnit."

Sideswipe stood up, his blue eyes honest as he stared down at Alec. "Don't worry about it. I never said that I minded." What? Just… what? Oh god, his head was spinning. What was that supposed to mean? Alec sighed. He'd figure it out the next day.

OoOoOo

It was only after Ratchet had already promised to let him go after a week that Alec actually asked his question.

"What are the Decepticons?"

Ratchet paused, the empty IV bag slowly leaking in his hand. "No one told you? What a pit of a way to welcome a new recruit." He put the bag in the trash can and turned back to Alec. "The Decepticons are the faction that we have been warring with since before your planet was even born. The reasons why are...complicated. Why? Did Sideswipe say something about them?" He finished taking his IV out

Alec wasn't sure why, but he didn't think it was a good time to bring up the scattered memory. If they were really all that bad, then he needed to learn more about it before letting anyone else in on family matters.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Ratchet nodded and disappeared, like dust blowing away in the breeze.

OoOoO

Sideswipe's arm still hurt from being torn off and welded on again. Ratchet was the best medic they had, and the scar was barely noticable, but none of that did anything to lessen the ghost pains. He really should have been able to ignore it. Back in the Arena, him and his brother had been torn apart multiple times; they never had the credits to pay for pain relievers. He supposed that the years of pampered treatment had him spoiled. He wished he could have a dose of Adren or Lithium or something else with a good buzz. He vented. Wishing accomplished nothing.

Alec glanced over at his frozen holoform. Though his fingers were not moving, his character continued to shoot their enimies. In the back of his processor, he was still playing, but most of his focus was on keeping his holoform solid. It was threatening to collapse.

"Are you okay?" Alec placed the remote gently on the side table and paused the game. He turned to Sideswipe, his hand hovering over the flickering apparition of Sides' own.

"I'm-" He started, just as his holoform generator gave out. The sudden jolt had his helm hurting. He tried to restart his holoform to no avail. The mod in charge of it refused to work. He guessed that the damage could have been from the fight, but it was really weird that it took so long to show up.

Alec come outside, his arms crossed and leather jacket draped over his shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"A bit sore where my arm was torn, and my holoform generator is messing up; I'll have to fix the programming, so it might take a while before I can fit in your house again."

He leaned against the side of the house. "Stretching would probably help, wouldn't it?."

"It would be nice." Sides admitted. He found a fault in it's code. It refused to work when his frame was still primed for battle. He should have let Ratchet do that stupid full diagnostic when he had the chance. He quickly diverted part of his mind to fix the bug, as the larger part refocused on Alec.

"The back yard should be big enough. The trees are tall enough to hide your hieght, and there's no nieghbors here, at least until winter is over."

"Lead the way."

Alec opened the gate to the backyard and Sideswipe drove through, wincing at the feeling of mud beneath his wheels. He transformed, shaking out his arm and transforming it from gun to hand and back again. It was still sore, but some of the stiffness went away.

Alec didn't seem to be fazed by anything anymore, Sideswipe thought as he started practicing his sword movements.

"What was it like, flying across the stars?" Alec asked suddenly, breaking their companionable silence. He hadn't yet looked Sideswipe in the optics. This was how it always was. No one could feel truely comfortable around them. Cybertronians were simply too powerful compared to humans, and that feeling of inferiority was what kept them from ever having romantic relations. It wasn't even that Cybertronians were Xenophobic; they had had relations with many other species, especially during the golden age. Sideswipe pulled his twin blades back into his subspace and sat down on the ground. He filled the large space and wondered if it made Alec uncomfortable. If it did, Alec didn't show it.

"It was wonderful. The view was breathtaking because I thought I'd never get to see it; from where I was raised, not many got to see anything other than the ring that they grew up in. It was…" he faded off. Alec didn't need to hear that. before switching to another thought. "But it's also terrifying; I was flying a carrier of thousands of other lives. I guess that's the trade off for the thrill." His door wings fell back slightly.

As Sideswipe spoke, Alec creeped closer, so slowly it was barely noticeable. And then he was sitting beside him in the lush, damp grass. Sideswipe could feel the relative coldness of him as he breathed.

His processor was scrambled for a moment as Alec's hand brushed his foot. The man looked up, his face calm and serene. "I like you better this way. I can see the real you."

Sideswipe didn't know what to say or do. These were romantic words, plain and clear. As much as he wanted to, he wasn't sure if he could return them. They were just so _different._ Even so, he didn't have to change himself to be accepted. He could just be himself and Alec liked him that way. The thought startled him into lowering his hand. Alec met his gaze for a moment before Sideswipe nodded. He could sit.. He wrapped his fleshy arms around Sideswipe's thumb as he was lifted closer to face level. He closed his eyes at the hieght until he stopped.

"Have you ever been in love?" He whispered. The sound was almost carried away by the wind.

Sideswipe thought back to his time on Cybertron. He had known his brother's love and that of the street performers, though those were two different things entirely. He had known Misery for a short while before she had died in childbirth- in his brother's arms. Love was a strange thing, but he knew what it felt like. He knew the agonizing feeling when they were hurt and- Oh pit. He was falling for him. Sideswipe wanted to push the emotion away, to pretend that he wasn't slightly scared of falling for someone so fragile.

Alec frowned slightly, breaking Sideswipe out of his internal discussion, and asked again, "Have you ever been in love?"

What was he supposed to say now? That he liked him? That he had been in love, and that it had ended in her death?

"I like you." The words popped out of Sideswipe's vocal processor. Plain and simple, and still refraining from answering the damn question. Alec seemed happy nonetheless. His cheeks were tainted red and he smelled like he did when he was racing- the thick heady smell of an adrenaline rush.

Alec leaned forward slightly and pressed his lips against Sideswipe's cheek. He wished he could feel the sensations that Alec likely was, but he didn't. Most of their bodies were built to be numb. Unless they were injured, Cybertronians felt most of their sensations on their fingertips and foreheads. Still, his face curled into a smile as he placed him back on the ground and transformed again.

As Alec sat down in the driver's seat, he ran his fingers over the steering wheel, causing him to shudder. Was this what it felt like to kiss a human? Did it always feel so strangely cold and yet pleasent at the same time?

As his holoform finally charged and came online, he decided to find out. He formed himself carefully, the same outfit and hairstyle as when he firs met Alec, and placed one hand around his waist. He pressed his lips against Alec's.

TV was wrong. It was nothing like what they had showed. Alec opened his mouth slightly and Sideswipe followed suit, allowing Alec to press his tongue into his mouth. At first, it felt slimy and weird, but as it licked the inside of his mouth, Sideswipe could taste sweet chocolate on his tongue and wondered if Alec could taste energon on him.

Alec's phone rang loudly and they both jumped, causing Sideswipe to bite down on Alec's tongue. Luckily, it wasn't too hard, but Alec was stil biting his lip as they drove out of the drive way.

"Um, did it feel okay?" Alec finally asked, his voice a bit different due to his swollen tongue. "Cause I know out erongenous areas are gonna be different and I dunno if you've done that befoer and I haven't done it in a while and-"

"It was great Alec. It was...great."

 **I feel super bad because I had this finished months ago and I thought I had posted it. Oh well. Y'all got it now. I'm back on track with my transformers series and I should have another update coming soon.**


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